The younger generation asked me the other day “why are we not able to cope with time and pressure? Are we productive enough with all the electronic gadgets we have? Why is it stressful to balance home and work with all the affluence? It has become difficult to handle children as they bring pressures from school and college. what is going on? My parents always have happy stories to narrate of their childhood and speak of their achievements with pride, when did we change? It is a valid observation. I said ‘have you heard of the word commitment? The coordination of thought and action is important for self esteem and that is what makes us stress free.
The gadgets have made our lives easy and lazy but it has failed to enhance our creativity. There is latent energy that demands expression and when we bottle it up it unfolds in the form of anger and stress. Education has remained in books, internet and the so called new methodology of teaching (helping the brain to function in steps). Human beings have a strong mind that can create and understand projects; education system has to give space for common sense.
We find high profiled institutions giving out executives, they do excel in presentation but they fail to execute their knowledge due to the constraints of the methodology of education system. The word ‘teacher’ has diluted the essence of teaching. Are we repeating the text book information in the classroom and don’t allow the students to ask questions? We pump the student s mind with information, and take them to the laboratories or we help them finish a project work; they work under pressure and fear and that is carried forward to in the functioning of life.
We have to show them both positive and negative side of life, teaching them to negate the false and accept the truth. Let the student experience failure if he has to, that will make him original and stronger. A teacher is one who can handle young minds as most of their time is spent in school. Parents have to be teachers at home understanding the child s potential and help them choose the subjects they love to study.
High expectations of the parents in education, values, morals, conduct takes away the freedom of expression as the children of today let their parents live on denial! What can bring about freedom in education? A petty mind trying to be not petty remains there, greedy mind trying to be generous stays greedy; there is a continuous process of learning and teaching but the core of it is still ignorance. It is a fact that, which is necessary, is fashioned by the mind and the mind then is taught to accept what it has fashioned. The mind can be trained to accept any belief if it satisfies the necessity. Teacher can guide us to think, discriminate, analyse and help us to choose what is good and bring about a positive revolution in our minds.
What is a mind to do that is caught in its own net? One part of the mind knows the impermanency of life, no corners to rest; the other part is seeking certainty, a relationship beyond dispute. A struggle to be or not to be leads to sorrow and we are held hostage in our minds. Teacher(guru) should have a complete knowledge of life and be committed to every student in grooming him to be confident and a good human being.